Ironman Lake Placid Course Review

No emotion...just a detailed review of Ironman Lake Placid

Location: LP is hard to get to and especially from the West Coast. Keep this in mind when traveling. Sunday race and we planned to travel on Thursday but changed to Wednesday at the last minute.  Due to a 6 hour weather delay in Dulles our trip was 18 hours door to door. San- Dulles- wait 6 hours. Dulles to Burlington + 2 hour drive.  You can fly to Burlington or Albany and the drive is similar in time but from Burlington the scenery is spectacular. You ferry or take a bridge over Lake Champlain (unless you land at midnight and the ferry is not running)  In any case we were pleased it was only Wednesday to allow an extra day for recovery and to catch up on sleep.  The long travel + the time change takes a toll for sure.

The village of Lake Placid is quaint and centers around the Olympic venues and has a great feel.  It is all Ironman, signs on the stores and restaurants and the vibe is great,  We stayed at the Northwoods Inn right in town.  A run down hotel with a 5 night minimum at $295/night- but well that is Ironman.  It was ok but would not stay again due to noisy air conditioner but we had a kitchenette and that was a bonus.  I would consider the following: The Haus (which as some kitchen units), Adirondack Inn or the Crowne Plaza Lake Placid. 

Staying in walking distance just makes the days leading up and race day stress free. It is nice to walk down and swim and bike and then come home and rest a bit and hit the expo etc. vs driving each time.

EXPO- expo and registration are in the old Olympic skating rink- which is now an outdoor grass field. Great set up and the actual registration is in the school a short walk away. 

SWIM: Mirror Lake is not a big lake and with 2500+ athletes it is full. The lake has the famous cable (6 ft underwater) and if you are lucky enough to get a spot on top it makes sighting really easy.   The course is 2 loops with a water start.  They start encouraging athletes to get in 25 min before the start- this is a long time to tread water so consider this before you get in.  Water temp was 74 so wetsuit legal- highly recommend a farmer john wetsuit- as full was VERY hot.  I got in after the pro's went off and made my way to the front to problem, with 10 min to go.  Swim spread out quickly and I was in open water soon.  I expected a fast swim but came out 58 (which is a bit slow for me)  I did end up on the cable but with people on either side I was whacking the buoys every 10 feet or so. 2 loop swim to be prepared to run out and and dive back in.

BIKE: This is a HILLY course!  I ride hills, love hills and did not prepare mentally for how tough this course is.   They are steep hills and the mentally tough part is that you descend first and then climb all the way back into town x 2. And in 2012 the wind picked up heavily so lap 2 which is tough to begin with was even harder with a serious head wind. I found this course more challenging than IM St George because the climbing was in the 2nd 1/2 vs climbing and then descending.  The famous 3 bears are as noted....steep but are packed with people and that helps tremendously!  If and I am not, no way no how,  were to do this race again I would be riding Great Western Loop doubles... 90 miles and 9000 ft of elevation. This is a tough course and I would be less concerned about aero riding and more about long rides on steep hills.  

RUN:  The run is NOT flat either.... you run out of town down hill... again the down first and then the up.  And the up is STEEP.  I was already feeling terrible and the run was a struggle and the hills just made it even tougher.  I would add some up hill transition runs to training and do some steep hill repeats on long runs.  IM St George (old run course) was tougher but this is not for the weary.   The finish is amazing as you run through town packed with people and final run is around the stadum.

Since this was not my day and a tough race overall it makes me less objective.....but if you want a challenge than IMLP is a good one!

Kona

I have had so many ask me if I am going to try and squeeze in another race and try to get to Kona...and the answer is no.  I have been fortunate enough to qualify the last 3 years and we spent glorious weeks in Kona each October and loved every minute of it except for the last 10 miles of the race when I swore I would NEVER come back. We stay with great friends and enjoy the Superbowl of triathlon. How can you not WANT to go....

At the beginning of 2012, before I broke my leg, bailed out of 2 races and had a sub-par IM in July I was 50/50 on going to Kona....why?  Lets start with the practical - it is a really expensive trip- minimum $5k for the 2 of us and with JD starting college in the fall we have a big bill forthcoming.....  But honestly that is not the real reason.... I just don't have the burning desire and that is where the question lies...why?  You have to have a burning desire to do any Ironman and especially Kona in the heat!  To be philosophical.....I have never raced well in Kona and maybe I have allowed the fear get to me?  Not sure, but the desire and will is not pressing as it has in years past.  The last 3 years I have  had a back up race planned in case I did not qualify at my A race and this year I did not and that was intentional.  If all went well and I secured a slot we would decide yes or no. I weighed the options around mile 80 of the bike, knowing full well it was not in the cards to happenat IMLP.  I could start the run and see if there was a miracle in my legs and if not I could have stopped and used LP as a training day and entered IM Louisville (yes it is still open)  or could have grabbed a community fund slot to Canada.  But I did not want to....

The other reason and I think this is the most compelling right now is family....Ironman training is a part time job.  I have my brother and family coming from Hong Kong for a week and will be in Lake Arrowhead and then JD and Riley come home from their month in Shanghai.  I want to enjoy the time with everyone and not stress about training.  JD and I leave August 19 to drive to Colorado for college and I want to have some fun along the way.  Can I train and have fun? sure but it is different.  For the 2 weeks before JD leaves...I want to have the energy to stay up late, go water skiing, camping and hang out with my teenagers.  

I also have another race booked...IM Cabo in March.  So I have another IM on the books that is not too far away.  So I am content, really I am, to take some time off and enjoy my family and friends.    I am not hanging it up and I confess I have looked at some 70.3 races in Sept/Oct as I may get a tad restless...but that will be a last minute decision and not a focused A race-more of fun race with some friends.

Big Moose Inn

Monday morning we got up and enjoyed a massive breakfast of gluten free pancakes with bananas + eggs + really crappy hotel room coffee Starbucks coffee.   We made the most of our kitchen(ette) and I was the wife extraordinaire and made banana gluten free pancakes and eggs served in bed!   Since we had spent $1000's for a crappy race we spending a lot of cash we decide to save where we can.

Big Moose Inn from the water

On the road by 11and off to The Big Moose Inn.  Good friends/co workers whom I have known/worked with for over 10 years bought this place 3 years ago in Eagle Bay NY.  They were living in Orlando and packed it all up and moved her to run the 12 room place.  Moosers (as are the people who summer or live her full time) are great people.  This place is not like any place in California.  This is what books are written about.  The locals call their places "camps"  We were invited to a "camp" of some people we met on the deck on Monday night.  This camp is probably worth well over $3 million and is a setting of 3-4 houses with the main house looking like a private inn.  Kids are running all over, parents and grandparents around.  They house was the woman's (who is a bit younger than me) great-grand parents place.  It has been redone, added onto and it simply stunning.   The kids who summer or come for a few weeks take swim lessons every weekday AM on the Big Moose dock 10-12 and then have afternoon activities that range from the local water park to overnight hikes.   Everyone knows everyone.

one of the 3 docks at the BMI

The Big Moose does a tremendous bar and restaurant business and the locals (who many live in homes with water access only) come by boat for a cocktail on the deck or a sensational meal.  We are remote...no cell phone service with any carrier and limited wi-fi.  But the restaurant offers sensational ahi, rack of lamb and a wonderful wine list. 

We are making the most of our time....started with a short swim across the lake and then had breakfast on the deck.  Weather on Tuesday brought a lot of rain and we just relaxed and then went out on the boat in the afternoon with the owner and his kids (his 1 day off a week) We saw many of the camps and some just peeking through the trees. All lakefront and with boats and docks afloat.

John was helping with a few projects around the Inn and I was drinking hard cider on the deck checking facebook and ready blogs working.  We had dinner in town with Mark and the kids and a local pizza and bar.   There was no gluten free pizza in Placid but we found some in Inlet NY at the Matts Draft House- that they and our  new favorite beverage, AngryOrchard Hard Cider and Gluten Free Pizza.  Great meal and early to bed.

Training for Ironman is about logging miles in swim,bike,run and that is the fun part (most of the time) but the nutrition and recovery part is the challenge. What to eat and not to eat and when to eat to get the maximum recover.  What do drink and not do drink (alcohol and big training don't mix) So it is a constant vigilance to eat well, hydrate and be well prepared for your next workout.

So post race it is always refreshing to not care.... so for example Monday I had eggs and coffee (not bad) , Frito's for lunch with a red bull (bad), JB and I shared a bottle of wine (no appetizers) and soon had pulled pork nachos... followed by more wine and a delicious dinner. Tuesday was 3-4 cups of coffee (recovering from the genius idea of a 2nd bottle of wine) 1 bagel with peanut butter gu (what a tri geek but I love PB on bagels and the did not have any) lunch was the rest of the chocolate we had brought along and some carrots followed by Angry Orchard Ciders and dinner that started with chocolate chip cookies and pizza and salad.   Gee wonder why I wake up not feeling fresh and cheery....

Today.... I think we shall explore the Fingelake Wineries and continue on Johns serious research on Adirondack chairs for his new business venture.

Ironman Lake Placid

2012 has not been my year for triathlon.....breaking my leg Feb 8th wrecked all hopes for Oceanside and Wildflower...so it was lots of recovering, frustrating running after 11 weeks off but it seemed like it all came together.  I was feeling strong the last few weeks- my run was a bit shy but I was thinking underdone is okay vs overdone.

I felt great race AM and was up and fed and off to my 8th Ironman..

SWIM: crazy how 2500 people can fit in Mirror Lake- it is not a big lake.   It is a water start and people started getting in 25 minutes before the start..I''m sorry I am not treading water for 25 minutes.  I stood in the water for a while- 74, felt really warm with a wetsuit on.  I met a woman that would inspire me throughout the day.  She is 47, stage 4 cancer and hopes to be around for 6 more months.  She has 13yo daughter and devoted husband and her dream before she goes it to complete an Ironman.  My eyes welled with tears and I hugged her luck...I wish I had gotten her name to see if she completed her journey.  She is done with chemo, did not help and she "is feeling strong" but was worried about finishing in 17 hours. 

So the cannon goes off and it is the usual dog fight.  I found my own line on the inside and sprinted hard and soon settled into a good pace (or so I thought)  I was working hard and swimming alongside another female.  We pushed each other and I was feeling okay, not great, but okay.  LP is a 2 loop swim so you exit the water round the corner and dive in for loop 2. I glanced at the clock looking for 26 and say 27:54...ugh...knowing I would slow some on the 2nd loop I was worried.  I tried to pick it up and just did not have it.  So I settled and fought with the girl next to me. I was on the cable and she gave me zero room so every few yards I would whack a buoy with my hand.  It was like whack a mole but was not nearly as fun and there were no prizes.  Swim seemed long. Finally the golden  red arches that saw SWIM OUT and we are on land.  I see 59....crap, slow, slow, slow....

BIKE: I don't rush transition I try to be calm and methodical.  I am out and on my way out of town.... computer is on and power is reading 24, 35, 41 watts.  I am confused.  I am climbing a small hill at 47 watts, this is the hill where I am suppose to keep it at 195.  I am so distracted. I nearly hit someone and realize I need to focus on the road. I hope that somehow it will "fix"  Well it did NOT - it went from low to really high. I was seeing 276, 301 which is an all out effort for me- so not likely.  I am trying to calibrate, reset, figure out what the heck is going on..... I realize I will not have power and will need to race with HR an PE (perceived effort)  Not a big deal but we did not talk about racing this way.  Okay, Julie get it together and race..

So I focus and race.  I realize that I am 1 hour in and not feeling great - my legs are not tired but not feeling great. I am not feeling great.   My attitude is crappy and then we hit the major descent and I focus and go down fast... really fast - 47mph was my top speed - holy crap I got the speed wobbles and hung on. I figured I needed as much time on the downhill as I could get- it was exciting.  I was struggling after that and without complaining for too long- it was not fun.  70 miles of no fun, is NO fun.  The bike is usually the most fun for me in an Ironman, sure there are low points, but this was low most of the time.  Climbing the 3 Bears into a headwind was even less fun.  I love to climb!  I don't like wind but climbing in the wind I can usually get in a positive space that I am stronger than others and I rock....but today was all about self doubt and pity.

RUN: As I am finishing the bike I am wondering how I am going to run.... usually I am excited to get off the bike and began the final leg.  I sat in T2 head in my hands mustering the will to start the run.  I headed out and was not making any decisions, judgements at that time as the 1st few miles can be rough.  These were rough indeed and with each mile it was getting worse.   I tried the positive talk and there was none of it. I debated stopping, what do I have to prove? I have done 7 Ironmans.  What is the point of drudging through this....well the point is not quitting.  I could have justified stopping but I decided to finish for the woman who may not be able to finish and may not have the chance to start one again, I decided to finish because of all the people following me in San Diego- I owe it to them to and I finished because my husband traveled this far and was out on the course for this long and he deserved to have me finish.  It was not pretty, I shed some tears of pity, some tears of pain and I met some cool people who were suffering as much as I.   It was a slow run and at points I would run 100 steps and walk 25.  The last 3 miles I decided I would just walk, I was done, it hurt too much and my time no longer mattered.  And then John comes running down the hill, cheering and supporting me and slowly jogging along side me and so I started.  He did this for 3 long and painful miles - getting the crowds to cheer and getting me to the finish line.  He should get 1/2 the medal.

And I finished.... not with the victory and elation of my others but with a feeling of accomplishment.  

I look like death...and felt that way too!

Recovery....a huge plate of nachos with guacamole and a really scary blue vodka drink.  Not really performance food but it tasted darn good....add the dark chocolate with cherries and I was ready for bed.

Day 2 in Lake Pacid

10 solid hours of sleep!  Much needed.... had a great dinner with John and Maureen and early to bed.  Woke up feeling good...whipped up some GF pancakes in our tiny kitchen and topped with my new favorite - I thought I bought plain butter but no....got this instead and love it!

Decided to ride the run course today since running 13 miles is a bit much... all you hear about IM Lake Placid is how hilly the bike is...hello, how about the run. Yes- definitely not a PR kind of course.   Wow... the climb back to town is a steep one and I can only imagine how that feels at mile 25.  Let's see...find the positive- I run a lot of hills!! Okay done- I am ready holy cow I should have run more hills, parked my car at the top of a steep hill and done all my runs from there....

The scenery is beautiful and we run by the Olympic ski jump- which is very cool!   And very steep and high and scary to think about.  I have a feeling the run is lonely....we go out a lonely country road and turn around and run back....the in and out of town suffering up the hill that looks a little phallic on the garmin profile will be awesome.  See something to smile about as I run up the hills. 

Did a nice run today and the town is hopping with athletes, family and has a great vibe.  I love the village and the expo....everyone has that amped up Ironman look about them. 

Confession time....did some major recon on who is racing in my AG and well let's just say there is some serious competition-  Chick went 10:15 on this course last year?  How can she be as old as me?  really????  UGH!  Oh well.... the day is my day to do the best I can do :) not get caught up in someone else's race...why check? I like to know- who is out there and where their strengths are...seems she can swim like and fish and run even faster and ride pretty darn well too.  I know, I know.... "there is only one thing  you can control and that is your attitude"  I am controlling it....

Cocoon of Confidence! 

Lake Placid

Arrive at 3am you have no idea what a location looks like....and we crashed hard.  So much for staying on East Coast time- Ha!  I slept until 9 and then groggily found Starbucks outside the hotel.  We are staying at the North Woods Inn right in town 1/4 mile from the expo and race start... great location to be in.   Hotel is rustic.... but we have a small king room with kitchenette so we are golden,

I connected the Brandy and after coffee we headed to the swim.   Soooo beautiful!   The lake is surrounded by trees, real trees - no Southern CA wimpy trees.  As soon as we got there we found Maureen and Tom and suited up for swim.

Sure enough there is a cable and it makes swimming/sighting really easy!!!  Hoping I get lucky on race day.  Will be interesting to see if race is wet suit legal as the water was warm.  Personally I hope no wetsuit!  

The lake is not big- we nearly swim the whole lake and the beach area is not spacious....I cannot fathom the mayhem come race day.  The lake is across the street from T1- so don't be expecting any fast transitions....it must be close to 1/2 mile.  We had a stellar swim and it felt good to shake out all the travel.  

Onto registration to get "tagged" and duh....forgot my license - so we checked out the expo, ate lots Bonk Breaker samples, GU chomps and random other tiny food until we needed real food. Green Organix was selling heirloom tomatoes with EVO, basil and seasonings by the bowl- OMG so good....that and a monster GF brownie + iced coffee and well not rally breakfast/lunch of Ironman but it was good.  JB bought a bag of brownies...I need to avoid those. 

I powered out some work and chilled...love vacation :)  and back we went to get registered and get my bike.     878 cannot say I love the number but it works!  But I can say I love the backpacks..thank you IM for skipping the string bags which I donate to the goodwill  and stepping it up to a real bag we can use!!

And look at the mountain of them. Ok so its not about the schwag... but I like to get cool stuff

Found some delicious grilled chicken and veggies and then the hammer dropped....sooo tired- nap time!  kept is short as I want to get on normal time.... caught up on facebook, read blogs, surfed the net, worked for a few hours and now off to test the bike for a quick spin....

John is out and about... being the patient sherpa and very supportive, well until he said, why are you rolling a 1080 when it's so heavy, why not lighter wheels..... I yelled shut up, shut up, if you cannot be supportive then go way and I stomped into the bonk breaker tent.  So I explained the aerodynamics usurp weight at times and after careful thought and analysis and seeking opinions I opted for this wheel set up. 

Why travel Wed for a Sunday race....

Getting to Lake Placid from San Diego is an all day event....in the best of times. So I knew I wanted a buffer day, just in case and to give me adequate time to adjust to the time change.  Although I have been on East Coast time all week- up at 4-4:30 every day. 

Today was no different.....but that was good as I skyped with the kids for 20+ minutes...they are having a great time and are learning a few words of Mandarin enough Mandarin to speak at ease.  They have met some great kids from around the world and have become fast friends....as well as enjoying all their time with their cousins and Aunt and Uncle. Today they are off the Beijing for 4 days for a amazing trip - definitely jealous there.

Julia and I took the pups for an early run and I showed her the running route and how to tire out Mako if her run was shorter than 90 minutes.  And we rolled at 6:30...no lines in San Diego, well except for the 27 ( yes that is how desperate I was) people in line at Starbucks and we were on the plane and off to Dulles..... 5 episodes of Breaking Bad my new horrible addiction and we landed in Dulles- Our layover was 30 minutes but we soon learned of a 45 min delay which we stupidly thought was a good thing as we had to take a shuttle, tram and hike through 2 terminals.  As we were walking toward our gate I noticed the longest line I have ever seen.....and then noted without registering there maybe a problem  that the line was for United Service Desk.  We we soon learned why.....flights cancelled and grounded all over the East and Mid West and that compounds it all.... our plane was here and the pilot here but out crew was in Pittsburgh.

Our departure went from 4:45 to 5:30 to 6:30 to 7:30 to 8:30 and now 9:10.....crew in en route, they say and not additional delays...... as frustrating as it is.... at least our flight was not cancelled.  We booked onto a back up flight at 10pm to Albany, rented a back up car and went and ate.  And now we wait and wait and wait..... so if all goes well, we land in Burlington 11:30- get on the road by midnight and have to take the long way as the ferry will be closed....and we hope to roll into Lake Placid by 3am....midnight out time- 18 hour later.

Well....again..race is Sunday do plenty of time to sleep and recover.....